Facebook Received Financial Boost

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka Shing has invested US$60 million in US-originated Facebook, Kara of the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital reported yesterday.

Will this bring joy to Asia’s Facebook users?

M'soft Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Released

Great news! Just found out that M'soft Visual Studio 2008 is released on MSDN. Woohoo! Congrats M'soft for yet another milestone.

The wait is finally over! No wonder over the past 2 months, the folks at Redmond are so quite. Now I understand. On Monday, Nov. 19 2007, M'soft announced that Visual Studio 2008 and the .NET Framework 3.5 were released to manufacturing (RTM). With more than 250 new features, Visual Studio 2008 includes significant enhancements in every edition, including Visual Studio Express and Visual Studio Team System. Developers of all levels – from hobbyists to enterprise development teams – now have a consistent, secure and reliable solution for developing applications for the latest platforms: the Web, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, the 2007 Office system, and beyond. (source: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/vstudio/default.aspx)

For the final release download links, check it out in ScottGu's blog (http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/11/19/visual-studio-2008-and-net-3-5-released.aspx). In conjunction with the release, here is a summary of the new features:

• Multi-targeting support for multiple versions of the .NET Framework
  
• ASP.NET AJAX and JavaScript support
  
• Web Designer and CSS Support
  
• New ListView/DataPager controls
  
• Language Improvements and LINQ
  
• Data Access Improvements with LINQ to SQL
  
• Browsing the .NET Framework Library Source using Visual Studio (just get to know this additional feature)
  
• WPF designer and project support
  
• ClickOnce and WPF XBAPs for FireFox
  
• WinForms and WPF projects can use the ASP.NET Application Services
  
• Richer Office development and Visual Studio Tools for Office support is built-into Visual Studio
  
• WCF and Workflow projects and designers
  
• Faster unit testing support
  
• AJAX web testing (unit and load)
  
• Much more...
  

Unfortunately, there are two popular add-ins to VS not yet available to download for the final VS 2008 release. These are the Silverlight 1.1 Tools Alpha and the Web Deployment Project add-in. If you are doing Silverlight 1.1 development using VS 2008 Beta2 you'll want to stick with with VS 2008 Beta2 until this updated Silverlight Tools Add-In is available. More info at Scott Gu's blog (as usual). Also, the ASP.NET MVC Framework will come later. According to Scott, this framework will work with VS 2008 as well as VS Web Developer 2008 Express. In addition, ADO.NET Entity Framework is not ready for RTM.

There are few breaking changes between the RTM version and the beta 2 including .dbml files created with the LINQ to SQL designer, LINQ to SQL OnValidate partial method now takes an enum as an argument, instead of DataContext.Add you'll now use DataContext.InsertOnSubmit() with LINQ to SQL, and the ListView control's item placeholder is now called "ItemContainer". Upgrading projects built with Beta2 should be pretty straightforward and only take a few minutes.

There is also a new release of AJAX Control Toolkit version 3.5.11119.0 (2007-11-19) that targets the above official release of .NET Framework 3.5 and VS 2008 at http://www.codeplex.com/AtlasControlToolkit/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=8513.

M'soft will publish in future the feature list per SKU.

Just finished downloading a 90-day free trial edition of VS 2008 Team Suite. Proceed with the installation now. I keep my finger cross the installation will goes smooth.

Work-Life UnBalance

Year 2007 is ending soon & year 2008 is fast coming. Here, it's raining heavily now. Feeling so slumber. It would be nice if I can take a short nap now. Instead of doing that, I move on to listen to some music & one of the song that struck me is "How Far We've Come" by Matchbox Twenty. This song has inspired me to look back at my life to know how far I've come & how can I improve my life. Furthermore, I find it a good time & day to proceed.

Well, I know it has been almost a year if I remember correctly that I do not have a proper life. What is a proper life to me is the ability for me to have a peaceful sleep (not necessary 8 hours a day), to enjoy every meals I have, to spend some quality time after working hour doing what I love to do & to have more time to socialize. I notice this is happening to me lately when I keep breaking promises. A simple example is my parents called me for almost 5 times where in every calls, they ask me when I will be going back to Malaysia & I just replied "I will plan out & will inform them". When I first came here to Singapore, I will go back to Malaysia once every 3 months even though for whatever reasons I can't do so. After more than a year in Singapore, that frequency changed when I only only go back to Malaysia after 6 months. As an example of this is after Chinese New Year holiday this year, I was in Singapore untill before Hari Raya 2007. So, the gap is almost 8 months. This simply reflect my unproper life which I think it is. I just felt so guilty & sorry for my actions.

I know I can't blame it on the same common reason to this problem that is busy with work because I have friends who is also working but they are able to achieve work & life balance. Therefore, I think the consequences of all these come from my work lifestyle. I have to learn to take a break & relax sometimes from work. In my opinion & experience, I have to say my working life in Singapore is difference than in Malaysia due to the fact its fast pace, work culture & people behaviour. Somehow, these has affected my life & I have to learn how to overcome this challenge or else adapt to it. I really miss out many happy, enjoyable, exciting, sad or memorable moments in my life.

I really need to start taking actions focusing at how to manage my time & how to survive in the "rats race" while it's not too late to get back my proper life I wish to. Last, to any of my family members & my friends who I can't keep in touch or I neglected, I hope you all can still bear with me. I am still trying my best to cope up with the burden now. TQ for the understanding.

MediaCorp StarAwards MS Silverlight Video Gallery Launched

Finally the waiting is over. We here at MediaCorp Technologies Web Team are pretty excited to launch StarAwards Video Gallery (http://starawards.mediacorptv.sg/videogallery.htm) developed using Microsoft Silverlight 1.0. To add to the excitements, this application has been showcased in Microsoft Silverlight Showcase site at www.silverlight.net/showcase. Look under Singapore category. Indeed, it is one of the first two Silverlight examples from Singapore. Congrats folks! Keep up the good job.

Backtrack a little, most of us here have been playing with Silverlight since the release candidate versions. Well, I have to say it's a good learning experience to me and to most of us who are part of it. Nevertheless, many bumps along the journey to bring us this far.

Also, not to forget under our belt, we have another web application, Campus Yummy Hunt develop using Silverlight 1.0 which is a online user-generated video gallery for a TV programme audition at http://yummyhunt.mediacorptv.sg/yummy/audition.htm. Moving forward, we are expecting more Silverlight Rich Internet Applications (RIA) will be released from our pipeline.

Therefore, keep following the light! ;-)

EZlink Card Customer Beware

Out of curiosity, I called the Translink enquiry line 1800-225-5663. It seems the undermentioned fact is absolutely true. Read on.

Translink charge one full fare plus 63 cents for second deduction if you tap (flash) at the bus front entrance door, but Translink willing to refund if complaint is lodged at the above number within 5 working days, regretably who is so free to go through the process. Therefore, it's better to avoid such a catch.

Helpful tips for those using EZlink card. To those who always use EZlink card, I would like to bring to your attention on local bus service provider. Usually, when you board the bus, you flash your EZlink card and move in towards the rear. Then, when you get down the bus, you flash your card again at the exit door (located at the middle of the bus). We all know that if we forget to flash the card, full fare will be deducted from the card.

Below is what the public does not know:

If you alight the bus from the front door (the entrance) and you flash your card while exiting without informing the bus driver, the card will capture another entrance fare instead of exit fare. What this means is that two full fares will be deducted from the card as no exit was being captured for the two entrances.

Here's the solution:

Go to the "big" machine (i.e machine for you to top up the card) located at the MRT stations.

1) Insert your EZlink card.

2) Press the function key "Check card".

3) Press the "more" button.

Doing these steps will show you your last 20 transactions. Included in each transaction is the information on the fare deducted, bus no, boarding time and the boarding and alighting point will be reflected on the screen.

I hope the above information does help you all. Please spread this information to people you know to prevent them from paying extra charges for nothing and burn a big hole in their pockets.

Last but not the least, call the hotline line: 1800-767-4333 when the incorrect fares are deducted. Thanks. :)

So Many Topic To Post

I have so many topics to share in this blog after a while since I never post due to hectic work schedule & family issues. I'll try to update this blog as much as I can given the little time I can spare on just blogging. Anyway, thank you you my readers for the interest in my blog. In the next few months, I'll try to post better quality content. Cheers! :)

World Internet Summit

The world's Biggest Internet Business Event is Back to Malaysia - 10-12 Nov 2007 at Wisma MCA, Kuala Lumpur (http://my.srpl.net/wis/wis2007.htm). I can't join this year as I am still in Singapore. Let's see whether my bro will grab this opportunity so that I can view the recordings instead. ;-) Our affliate guy, Ewen Chia also 1 of the panelist. This gotta be damn kewl!

Facebook Gaining Popularity in Asia

I get to know about Facebook while poking around the web for health care 2.0 ideas. That was early this year. That time, Facebook & mySpace is damn popular to the westerners especially Americans & Europeans. Then, finally around Aug this year, I find some time to actually test out Facebook platform capabilities from the developer & business stand point of view. And today, I notice the Facebook disease spreaded to Asia as I received more & more invitations from my existing contacts. From this, I could say that the Asians are not far left behind in the web 2 oh wave or in a simpler term, the next generation of websites centered around consumers.

Burnout

Woke up yesterday morning feeling drowsy. Very abnormal to me. I think its the compounded lack of sleep plus the high brain cell burn rate over the last couple of weeks. Each and every single thing i have to think about will bug me badly. Notice how busy am I from the gap between this post & the last post. I hope matters will eventually low down. I think only time can prove it as of now. I have give my very best shot at all the undertakings.